Bhupendra Patel takes oath as Gujarat Chief Min

Gandhinagar: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Bhupendra Patel on Monday took oath as the Chief Minister of Gujarat for a second straight term in Gandhinagar in a grand ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers, and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states.

Sixteen other ministers, including eight of Cabinet rank, were also sworn in. The new entrants include 11 former ministers.

Patel was administered the oath as the 18th chief minister by Governor Acharya Devvrat at a function held at the Helipad Ground near the new Secretariat.

The Cabinet ministers include Kanu Desai, Rishikesh Patel, Raghvji Patel, Balvantsinh Rajput, Kunvarji Bavaliya, Mulu Bera, Kuber Dindor, and Bhanuben Babariya.

Harsh Sanghvi and Jagdish Vishwakarma were sworn in as ministers of state with an Independent charge.

The six other ministers of the state include Parshottam Solanki, Bachu Khabad, Mukesh Patel, Praful Pansheriya, Kuverji Halpati and Bhikhusinh Parmar.

PM Modi congratulated CM Patel and his new team in a tweet.

"Congratulations to Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel on taking oath as CM of Gujarat. I would like to also congratulate all those who took oath as Ministers. This is an energetic team which will take Gujarat to even newer heights of progress," the PM tweeted after the ceremony.

Of the 11 former ministers who were inducted into the Bhupendra Patel government 2.0, seven were part of the government led by him from September 2021 to December 2022.

They are Harsh Sanghavi, Jagdish Vishwakarma, Kanubhai Desai, Rushikesh Patel, Raghavji Patel, Kuber Dindor and Mukesh Patel. Four others, including Solanki, Bera, Khabad, and Bavaliya, had served as ministers in the BJP governments in the past.

Hours after taking oath for a second straight term in office, Patel allocated portfolios to the newly-inducted ministers, keeping home and revenue, among other key departments, with himself. Cabinet minister Kanubhai Desai has been given finance, energy and petrochemicals departments, while the only woman Cabinet member — Bhanuben Babariya — has been allocated social justice and empowerment, women and child development portfolios.

The CM kept portfolios of home, general administration, revenue, disaster management, urban development and urban housing, pilgrimage development, panchayat, science and technology, roads and building, Narmada, ports and information and broadcasting with himself, according to an official release.

Another Cabinet minister Rushikesh Patel has been given health, higher and technical education, law and parliamentary and legislative affairs portfolios, while Raghavji Patel will handle agriculture, fisheries, rural housing and rural development departments.

Balwantsinh Rajput has been allotted industries, labour and employment, MSME (Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), cottage industry and civil aviation as a Cabinet minister.

Cabinet member Kunvarji Bavaliya has been given water resources and water supply and food and civil supply departments.

While Mulubhai Bera has been given tourism, cultural activities, forest and environment departments as a Cabinet minister, his colleague Kuber Dindor will handle tribal development as well as primary and secondary education portfolios.

Harsh Sanghavi has been given portfolios of home, police housing, industry and cultural activities as a Minister of State (MoS). He will also handle sports and youth service, NRG (Non Resident Gujaratis) department, prisons, border security and transport portfolios as MoS with Independent charge.

MoS Jagdish Vishwakarma has been given independent charge of cooperation, salt industry and protocol departments. He will also handle MSME, cottage industry, khadi and village industry and civil aviation in the capacity of a junior minister.

Parshottam Solanki has been given fisheries and animal husbandry as a Minister of State, while Bachubhai Khabad has been made MoS for panchayat and agriculture departments.

Mukesh Patel will handle forest and environment, climate change, water resources and water supply departments as a junior minister.

Praful Pansheriya has been given the charge of parliamentary and legislative affairs as well as education portfolio as a junior minister.

While Bhikhusinh Parmar has been made a junior minister for food and civil Supply as well as social justice and empowerment, his colleague Kunvarji Halpati will handle tribal development, labour and employment and rural development as an MoS. Top BJP leaders, including Union ministers and chief ministers of the party-ruled states, attended the swearing-in ceremony.

They included Union minister Amit Shah, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, Karnataka CM S R Bommai, Goa CM Pramod Sawant, MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu and Haryana Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala.

BJP president JP Nadda and Union ministers Smriti Irani, Ramdas Athawale, and Sarbananda Sonowal also attended.